How Schneider Electric is driving AI in industry

How can European industry remain competitive under the new framework conditions this year?

Gwenaelle Avice Huet: Industry in Europe is facing a range of different challenges. On the one hand, there are energy costs, because we are dependent on external suppliers for energy. The second element is international positioning, because competition is very abrupt and harsh.

At the same time, today we still see a strong commitment to sustainability, but also the question of how sustainability and competitiveness can be brought into harmony with one another.

Why exactly is AI this connecting piece?

Huet: In order to advance decarbonization in the sense of sustainability, one needs software that captures a multitude of data points and can create an appropriate roadmap from them. AI is an enabler here.

AI is also an enabler for competitiveness, as it brings enormous computing power to the data. With this data, numerous use cases can be optimized, and this across the entire lifecycle of industrial facilities nhinweg: From planning to construction and operation all the way to maintenance.

The third pillar is AI as a way to accelerate the reduction of energy consumption. In industry, we connect energy supply and processes with one another. Thanks to this connection, we can capture all data on energy consumption at a site and optimize consumption with the help of AI.

Artificial intelligence is therefore an effective means of bringing all these customer challenges - from energy costs to operational competitiveness and sustainability - into harmony with one another.

Do your customers actively ask for AI, or do they simply demand more efficiency, and then you propose AI as a solution?

Huet: AI is a buzzword today. The problem is that it is not necessarily understood how to use AI effectively. It is attractive, but one has to demonstrate on the basis of very complex use cases how it can be used, what it means as a value proposition for the customer, and how concrete results can be derived from it.

Is it about reducing downtime in a manufacturing plant? Is it about lowering energy costs? This is the translation we bring to the customer.

At the beginning of the year, one of our plants in Wuhan, China, was recognized at the World Economic Forum as a “Lighthouse” for the use of AI in talent management. The point was to create the connection between technology and positive benefit for people - including on the factory floor and at every level of the organization.

AI is viewed with concern by some people. At the same time, however, it is also a way to attract talent, train people, and focus them on what really makes the difference. We often say that, in reality, AI is a multiplier for the workforce.

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I have noticed that companies now speak much less theoretically about AI and are instead increasingly showing what they actually do with it. Is that your perception as well?

Huet: There are now significantly higher expectations of tangible results from AI. Many industries are no longer talking only about AI, but about the entire architecture and about how to rethink the architecture of manufacturing plants.

This is where Schneider Electric differentiates itself with our vision of an open ecosystem, the so-called “Open Software-Defined Automation.” There, AI can be integrated as one of the accelerators for use cases. We are seeing more and more clearly that the separation between hardware and software is no longer a mere vision, but is actually taking place.

Last year, there was a lot of talk about pilot projects with generative AI. What has changed since then?

This year, “Augmented Physical AI” is coming more strongly into focus and moving into scaling. We have just made two announcements: The first concerns a partnership with Microsoft in the field of “Agentic AI.” In this context, we use open ecosystems such as EcoStruxure Automation Expert and integrate an industrial copilot directly in the edge area.

The goal is to have agents that create code throughout the entire life cycle - from planning to operation to maintenance - and thus prepare decisions for humans.

The second announcement concerns Deloitte in the area of digital transformation. More and more customers want to digitize, but need support with training, with the evaluation of various options, with data security, and with the contextualization of data.

Are you already tired of talking about AI, or is it exciting again every year?

No, I think we are only at the beginning. We see so many developments in the technology, in the business models, in the acceptance as well as in customer expectations. There is still a lot ahead of us. What is important is this: It is not a mere vision in the air, but something very concrete on the shop floor that is already scalable.

You have a global view. Is Europe really leading the way in AI, or are we only part of it?

Huet: That is interesting, because it ties in with a report that we published a month ago on “Autonomous Operations.” We looked at customers in the energy and chemicals industries and examined their degree of autonomy in global operations.

The most advanced regions were Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Europe was a bit behind, but still at a solid level of automation. That should be an incentive to accelerate, because the report shows that the technology exists. It is not a question of availability, but of adoption.

Do you believe that AI is also giving sustainability a new boost? In recent years, the topic sometimes seemed a little less present in industry.

Huet: Yes, and that also establishes the connection to people. Even if one does not want to talk about sustainability, energy costs are a pressing problem. To address these, AI is a solution because the consumption of a plant can be optimized through data collection and corresponding use cases. The less energy one consumes, the better it is for sustainability.

In Europe, our biggest challenge is that we must accelerate electrification. The dependence on energy that is generated elsewhere is currently too high. We must continue to drive forward electrification, renewable energies and the digitalization of the grid in Europe in order to ensure the sovereignty of the energy system.

One point that connects all of this is cybersecurity. AI can help here too, right?

Huet: Our approach is to connect the dots between OT and IT. We have to bring these two worlds together, because we are moving toward increasingly complex ecosystems. There is more data everywhere and more use cases that control operations. We have to move in this direction so that people have confidence and see how secure operations are.

Can AI now be used everywhere in industry?

Huet: The adoption of AI is taking place across the board. However, there are geographic particularities, since the IT infrastructures can differ. Some opt for cloud solutions, others for on-premise solutions or hybrid models. We offer all types of solutions to ensure that the technology does not represent an obstacle. It is really about accelerating acceptance and adoption.